Primitively speaking, of course! Meet one of my friends, Ms. Pumpkinhead. Dangling from her fine, fuzzy witch hat is the inspiration to my Not-So-Itsy-Bitsy Spider. I have mentioned before my old friends that I bring out at the holidays, and this is one of them. Her grin reminds me its time to smile. Here are some more of my old friends… This is Pretty Miss Witchie Poo Above is Raggedy Witchie and Pumpkin Angel A pumpkin turned into a witch! And a favorite early art piece by Mike! Have you noticed that the candy industry is constantly coming up with new and delicious treat? I remember when Hershey's started adding flavors, not just nuts, to their Kisses. That was fun! We especially loved the peppermint ones at Christmas. When I was at Walmart picking up some costume elements for Mike's creature character for the school play "Frankenstein", I was looking for the traditional candy corn for my pumpkin candy jar when I came across a yummy newbie…Caramel Apple Candy Corn! Made by Brach's/Milk-Maid, this little treat weighs in at 140 calories for about 22 pieces. As tasty as they are, I could easily stop at 8 pieces, so that means that I can enjoy their yumminess for about 50 calories! What a deal!
Scott and I went shopping for pumpkins last night at WalMart (yes WalMart!) I came to the realization that gone were the days of the long treks out to the pumpkin patch/haunted maze/scary woods. Everyone is so busy getting ready for their respective projects that organizing an outing any further than the next freeway off-ramp seems highly unlikely. With Megan gone taking care of her big sister, Christie, there isn’t anyone to press the matter. I asked the boys on the way out the door if they would like a pumpkin to carve and they both said “sure” so we got to choose their pumpkins for them. Pumpkin carving has always been a fun tradition. I talked to a friend the other day…an “empty nester”. She said that they didn’t decorate for any of the holidays anymore except Christmas. That made me a little sad, but it also made me determined to decorate as long as I can access the decorations. My decorations are like old friends – even the new ones! I like to unwrap them and sit them around the house, like I would an old friend that might come for a visit. They only stay for a short while, but they will always be welcome! While at WalMart, I also picked up some canned pumpkin. I don’t make pies, but I love it in other recipes. One of
Definition: The pathological fear or loathing of SPIDERS! But who could be afraid of this cute little guy! Follow these directions for a quick and easy addition to a Halloween spider's web, hat, centerpiece or cauldron ingredient. 1. Cut out two circles for patterns: one 3.5" and a 5". Pin to felt; cut out. I actually used a black fleece for the body, and a dark grey wool felt for the head. It stuffs well when it has a little give. When I do hand gathering or stitching, I prefer to use DMC Perle Coton. I LOVE DMC Perle Coton! (It's another one of those things I gather!) It is twisted and offers a lot of color in a single strand. 2. Do a big running stitch around the edge of the circles. Sorry…the picture is a little blurry. 3. Gather up the edges and start stuffing fiberfill into the the middle of the gathered circle. 4. After the head and body are well stuffed, tie off stitching. Don't pull it all the way together – leave a little of the fiberfill showing. These open spots will cover up each other. 5. When stitching the mouth and eyes, start from the back side and end up on the backside. This makes for no loose ends. Once you add the first eye, anchor it on the back, pulling it tight so as to push the eye in a
It really is challenging to learn new tasks the older you get. My first thought is to get my son, Jacob, to rescue me. Because he is so adept at computer/website/publishing things, I automatically think of him when I get stuck at any technical project. At one point he set it up so that he could get on-line with me remotely so that he didn’t have to struggle to understand my non-technical attempts to explain my problems. That has shortened the diagnostic time drastically. But there are times when it isn’t a good time to call him for assistance…like 3 o’clock in the morning when I can’t go back to sleep! Just after shutting down my computer last night, a thought came to me of how to get an image header on this blog. As you can see, I was successful! Jake will be so proud! Not to say it was easy. Nothing wrong with the typepad program, just the ineptitude of the user! But one thing I have learned. When you figure it out for yourself, it gives you confidence to try and solve more problems by yourself. That is how the learning process goes. I remember when Jacob got the first computer in the house. All I wanted to use it for was making invitations and fliers. It was easier for Jacob to do it for me than to
This delicious home-made granola makes a great snack, even without the milk!
This delicious butterscotch sauce, best when served warm, is quick and easy to make!...
Make your Jell-O Cookies merry, just in time for you Christmas cookie plates!...
I love to bake, but I am basically a lazy baker. It has been a really long time since I baked a...
Oh what fun it is to work with October Afternoon's Holiday Style product line! ...
